Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday stayed the legal proceedings in a communal hatred case registered against Yuva Brigade leader Chakravarty Sulibele over a tweet regarding the SSLC exam schedule. During the hearing, the Justice raised sharp questions against the actions taken by the government and the police department.

Background of the Case

In this year’s SSLC examination schedule, the Friday exam was scheduled for the afternoon instead of the morning session. Questioning this, Sulibele tweeted, "All exams are in the morning, why only Friday in the afternoon? Oh.. time for Namaz." In connection with this, a case was registered at the Jayanagar Police Station in Shivamogga on charges of spreading communal hatred.

Key Questions and Observations by the Court:

The bench, headed by Justice V. Srishananda, heard the case and raised the following key points:

* Is this Communal Hatred?: "He has questioned why all exams are in the morning and only one is in the afternoon. I don't understand what is communal hatred in this. Is it a crime to say that a holiday has been given for a festival?" the Justice questioned.

* Biased Stance: "I have quashed cases against those who said 'Pakistan Zindabad' on Facebook; that amounts to hatred against the country. But here, only an opinion has been expressed. Thousands of such tweets appear every day; do you file cases against everyone?" the court remarked while pulling up the government.

* Respect for Religious Faith: "Performing Namaz is a part of religious faith. That is the devotion of those people. What is wrong with saying that the exam was kept on Friday afternoon for Namaz?" the bench observed.

Arguments by the Advocates

Senior Advocate Arun Shyam, appearing for Sulibele, argued, "The case has been filed under IPC Section 505. However, no prior permission was obtained from the Magistrate for this. Therefore, this legal process itself is not maintainable." On the other hand, Additional State Public Prosecutor Asma Kouser argued that there are already three cases pending against Sulibele and that he is a habitual offender of the law.

Final Order

The Justice granted an interim stay on the legal proceedings until the next hearing. Furthermore, the court stated that the respondent state government has the liberty to file objections and seek the vacation of this interim stay, subsequently adjourning the hearing.